Today in Earthquake History

Today's Earthquake Fact:
Moonquakes ("earthquakes" on the moon) do occur, but they happen less frequently and have smaller magnitudes than earthquakes on the Earth. It appears they are related to the tidal stresses associated with the varying distance between the Earth and Moon. They also occur at great depth, about halfway between the surface and the center of the moon.

Year at a Glance

January

Note: All earthquake dates are UTC, not local time.

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Year	Location	Magnitude	Comment

1973	Near Coast of Michoacan, Mexico	7.5	Fifty-two people were reported killed, 390 were injured, and 22,000 were made homeless. An estimated 40 percent of the town of Gomez Faris was destroyed, and substantial damage was reported elsewhere in the states of Colima, Michoacan and Jalisco. The towns of Tecoman and Coahuayana suffered particularly heavy damage. A few buildings in Colima and Ciudad Guxman collapsed. In Mexico City, 450 kilometers from Colima, plaster cracked, power cables fell, and telephone service was interrupted. Workers fled to the streets as tall buildings swayed, A volcano 80 kilometers north of Colima was reported to have begun eruption at the time. A minor, harmless tsunami with a total amplitude of about 1 meter also occurred. Felt aboard the ship "Jesper Maerski" at position 18 31.0N, 104 02.5W. From Significant Earthquakes of the World 1973. and Earthquake Information Bulletin, Volume 5, Number 2.

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